Masterpiece: Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island

The game that changed the idea of what a Mario game could be.

Back in 1995, I thought I knew what a Mario game was. Running left to right (or maybe down to up). Jumping on things. Eating mushrooms to get big. Flying, sometimes. You know the drill. Then Yoshi's Island came along and showed that Mario games could be about a lot more than that.

Yeah, you were still running through levels and jumping on things, but the myriad ways Yoshi's Island expanded on the Mario formula made it feel like an entirely new game. Yoshi went from an occasional helper in Super Mario World to a permanently controllable character in Yoshi's Island, tasked with protecting a near-helpless Baby Mario riding on his back. Yoshi's oversized tongue let players slurp up enemies and transform them into projectile eggs that could be fired in any direction. What used to be a run-and-jump series was now run-and-jump-and-slurp-and-shoot game, and the Yoshi's Island designers built levels that catered to these new abilities wonderfully.

But the true key to Yoshi's Island's appeal, to me, is the flutter jump. If you continue to hold the jump button after the peak of Yoshi's arc, he'll kick his feet in the air to first slow his descent and then start floating upward again, achieving a new, slightly higher peak. If you have enough elevation, you can flutter multiple times before eventually floating to the ground. This new feature added a crucial, extra bit of post-jump precision to the standard Mario jump, and allowed for a lot of platforming challenges that required mid-air direction changes or extra-long flutter leaps. It's hard to explain to someone who's never played Yoshi's Island just how right it feels to trace a series of gentle, perfect curves through the air with a well-timed executed series of flutter jumps.

Then there's the way the game looks. Mario games have always been bright and colorful, but Yoshi's Island brought a hand-drawn aesthetic that really captured the game's sense of childlike wonder. From the gentle pastel backgrounds to the stark black outlines of the primary-colored characters and enemies, there's the slightest bit of imperfect sloppiness to the visual design that evokes a grade schooler's dream world more than a pixelated game system.

A lot of people don't realize that the 2D sprites in Yoshi's Island were backed up by a version of the polygon-pushing Super FX chip—the same one that powered early 3D SNES games like Star Fox and Stunt Race FX. This allowed for massive bosses that could stretch, rotate and move with a smoothness that was unknown in games at the time, but also provide subtler effects like the way Yoshi's head compresses a little bit when he bonks it against the ceiling. The Super FX powered character animation carries a level of detail that makes the characters seem much more lively than the keyframe animation of previous Mario games.

Avoiding enemies is still important in Yoshi's Island, but getting hit one or two times usually isn't an instant death, as in previous Mario games. Instead, you can just quickly recapture the floating Baby Mario and continue on with the level. It's an important change for a game that marks a transition point of sorts from the simpler "get to the end without dying" Mario games that came before to titles that focused more on exploration and secondary goals.

Yoshi's Island doesn't have a time limit, allowing players to search out the five giant flowers and 20 hidden red coins in each level to their heart's content. Finding these bonuses isn't necessary to beat the game, but searching out a perfect score on each level provides a great excuse to go back and really absorb all the nooks and crannies of the excellent, puzzle- and secret-filled level design. Plus, finding all the secrets on each level unlocked a series of six extra-hard bonus stages. You know a game is good when you're excited that the reward for playing well is that you get more levels to play.

That's because every new level in Yoshi's Island showed more originality and imagination than the entirety of many other platform games of the day. There are enemy monkeys that spit watermelon seeds at Yoshi and try to run off with Baby Mario. There are giant, screen-filling Chain Chomps that try to chase Yoshi down (before inevitably falling and chipping a tooth on a cement block). There are items to transform Yoshi into vehicles ranging from a helicopter to a submarine. There's a spike-proof dog that serves as a barely controllable transport. There's the infamous level where Yoshi gets high (sorry, "dizzy") by inhaling floating spores. You never know what to expect when you unlock a new level in Yoshi's Island, and that expectation of new content keeps you going at least as much as anything else.

The magic of Yoshi's Island has proven hard to recapture. I'll never forget the feeling of disappointment I felt when I bought Yoshi's Story on the N64 only to realize it was a pale, simplified shadow of the game that inspired it. Years later, Yoshi's Island DS did its best to expand on the SNES classic, but everything from the controls to the level design just felt the tiniest bit off. The Game Boy Advance rerelease of the original Yoshi's Island might just be the quintessential version of the game, featuring six new unlockable stages that feel perfectly integrated into the larger whole.

The radical experimentation of Yoshi's Island holds up amazingly well even nearly two decades after its first release, and stands as a testament to how even the most well-known and beloved series can be tweaked and expanded successfully.

The game that made me fall in love with the snes. In my early teens most of my friends were busy playing mk and stuff, there was just me and a buddy who Slogged this game till the end. and when the genesis guys saw the graphics for this game it was settled which was the superior console xD

This game is one of my favorite games of all time. Got it to almost 100%.Got it first on the gameboy advance. Unfortunately the cartridge battery went bad, so I can't play it anymore. Using some emulator isn't the same...

I really want it on Virtual Console too. This was one of the defining console games of my childhood, an absolute masterpiece. Years later, my sister experienced it on GBA and also fell in love with it, despite being 24 at the time. Sheer bliss.

"A lot of people don't realize that the 2D sprites in Yoshi's Island were backed up by a version of the polygon-pushing Super FX chip—the same one that powered early 3D SNES games like Star Fox and Stunt Race FX."

This is not correct.Yoshi's Island catridges use the Super FX 2 chip, which, iirc, features a twice as fast clock speed than the generation 1 Super FX chip used in Starwing and Stunt Race FX.

If you go as far as stating "a version of", then at least make the second half of the sentence not so ambiguous that you could think it really is the same version of the same chip.

I believe this is one of the few games that can be considered perfect. It just has everything right from music to art style to gameplay. Just the attention to detail is outstanding and little things like the map music changing and getting more instruments added as you complete worlds shows the work the developers put into the game.

As others have opined, this is by far my favorite Mario game and I`m equally baffled as to why Nintendo has never made it available on the Virtual Console.

The poster above was incorrect, Yoshi's Island isn't on the Virtual Console in any region. In fact, none of the Super FX games are on the VC in any region, which makes me think there's something particularly tricky in emulating it that Nintendo never got figured out.

As for the game itself, it's easily one of the greatest 2D platformers ever made. Mario 3, Mario World, Sonic 3 and Knuckles are strong contenders, but personally I think I'd probably take Yoshi's Island above all of them.

I still have the original cart for my SNES and play it occasionally to this day. I spent more time than I would like to admit on getting a perfect score on every level. And don't for get the cheat while holding Select press X,X,Y,B,A to play some minigames. That discovery was mind blasting to my 10 year old self.

This game was definitely different when i played it was around 16 and i loved classics such as Starfox and Killer Instinct, and even tough i never owned the game, I would play the game at the kiosks at Wal-Mart. Ahhh, the good old days...

Um, this game was AWESOME. and so attractive. they totally pulled off that "everything looks like a cezanne painting" look so well. No 2D scroller has ever looked so stylized and great. This ranks up there with Earthworm Jim...classic.

Wow, seems I'm in the minority here, but I hated it, Absolutely, unequivicolly hated it. I've even came back to it in recent years after I got some USB SNES controllers, and tried it on a month long SNES nostaglia trip. Loaded up the ROM and played it for about 15 minutes, and concluded "Yep still sucks."

I prefer Yoshi to be that extra lifeline that Mario drops into the abyss without a hint of regret to save himself. Yoshi as the main character has that spinoff feeling most new Mario games have and thats probably why I couldn't wholeheartedly come to like it.

I don't think "Masterpiece" means what Ars editors think it means. Every time I see a Masterpiece article, after the first one (Super Metroid, which I agreed with... and possibly FF7 as well) I thought, that game was special to somebody at some point, but isn't exactly timeless. Okay, Street Fighter II was popular, but was it actually good? I have a specific issue with all fighting games, but I won't go into it. Setting that aside, I think Mortal Kombat 3 was the peak of the genre. Tons of characters, loads of finishers, great environments, unlockables, and solid graphics for the time. The last few have been real niche titles. I'm not saying they weren't awesome at the time, but they haven't really stood the test of time.

Here's an idea: Deus Ex. This game came out in 2000, and was doing stuff with sneaking that nobody else really was. Okay, there was Metal Gear Solid, but that was just a PlayStation exclusive. This was a real PC game. It had a pretty abysmal sequel four years later, and interest waned, but that didn't stop Square Enix from buying the brand and releasing a new title. A lot of people liked last year's prequel, Human Revolution... me, not so much. It will not be remembered as fondly in 12 years as the original is today.

Here's another: Fallout. Or Fallout 2. I personally prefer 3 and New Vegas, but the first two are still widely loved by PC RPG fans, and they're playable on modern hardware, having been propped up by the modding community with patches to both the game engine and the textures. I wish I could get into them, but their inaccessible difficulty is a virtue in an age (today, I mean) where winning is a matter of when, not if. New Vegas is indisputably a great game, but it's always winnable with a little bit of skill, even in Hardcore mode (must eat, sleep, and drink to stay alive). If you persevere, you will eventually become overpowered, and then you can beat the story mode at your leisure. If you persevere in 1 or 2, you may eventually start a game where you see the ending, but you'll have worked for it. I respect that.

Far as I'm concerned, the Super NES had three masterpieces. You already covered one. The other two were Zelda 3 and Secret of Mana. The three represent the best action, the best adventure, and the best roleplaying. (Chrono Trigger was cool, but still limited by turn-based and menu-based action; Mana was real-time, and so much better for it. But I can accept a strongly made case for CT as well. For its limitations, it was pretty damn good.) I wouldn't call either Super Mario World a masterpiece... hold your tomatoes, I consider the second, revised Super Mario All-Stars a masterpiece. It's got Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3, and the US version of 2, plus Super Mario World. All except 2 were phenomenal games, and I only knock 2 for being hell hard. (Yes, I'm referring to the one called "The Lost Levels" -- in Japan, it was sold as Super Mario Bros. 2; the American SMB2 that takes place in the dream world is just a re-skin/improvement on another game, Doki Doki Panic.)

I don't think "Masterpiece" means what Ars editors think it means. Every time I see a Masterpiece article, after the first one (Super Metroid, which I agreed with... and possibly FF7 as well) I thought, that game was special to somebody at some point, but isn't exactly timeless. Okay, Street Fighter II was popular, but was it actually good? I have a specific issue with all fighting games, but I won't go into it. Setting that aside, I think Mortal Kombat 3 was the peak of the genre. Tons of characters, loads of finishers, great environments, unlockables, and solid graphics for the time. The last few have been real niche titles. I'm not saying they weren't awesome at the time, but they haven't really stood the test of time.

Here's an idea: Deus Ex. This game came out in 2000, and was doing stuff with sneaking that nobody else really was. Okay, there was Metal Gear Solid, but that was just a PlayStation exclusive. This was a real PC game. It had a pretty abysmal sequel four years later, and interest waned, but that didn't stop Square Enix from buying the brand and releasing a new title. A lot of people liked last year's prequel, Human Revolution... me, not so much. It will not be remembered as fondly in 12 years as the original is today.

Here's another: Fallout. Or Fallout 2. I personally prefer 3 and New Vegas, but the first two are still widely loved by PC RPG fans, and they're playable on modern hardware, having been propped up by the modding community with patches to both the game engine and the textures. I wish I could get into them, but their inaccessible difficulty is a virtue in an age (today, I mean) where winning is a matter of when, not if. New Vegas is indisputably a great game, but it's always winnable with a little bit of skill, even in Hardcore mode (must eat, sleep, and drink to stay alive). If you persevere, you will eventually become overpowered, and then you can beat the story mode at your leisure. If you persevere in 1 or 2, you may eventually start a game where you see the ending, but you'll have worked for it. I respect that.

Far as I'm concerned, the Super NES had three masterpieces. You already covered one. The other two were Zelda 3 and Secret of Mana. The three represent the best action, the best adventure, and the best roleplaying. (Chrono Trigger was cool, but still limited by turn-based and menu-based action; Mana was real-time, and so much better for it. But I can accept a strongly made case for CT as well. For its limitations, it was pretty damn good.) I wouldn't call either Super Mario World a masterpiece... hold your tomatoes, I consider the second, revised Super Mario All-Stars a masterpiece. It's got Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3, and the US version of 2, plus Super Mario World. All except 2 were phenomenal games, and I only knock 2 for being hell hard. (Yes, I'm referring to the one called "The Lost Levels" -- in Japan, it was sold as Super Mario Bros. 2; the American SMB2 that takes place in the dream world is just a re-skin/improvement on another game, Doki Doki Panic.)

I have to disagree. Chrono Trigger is the finest RPG - and game - on the SNES. I played Mana (and Seiken Densetsu 3) and CT is the best of them all. It's perfect. I guess we all have personal preferences. But there is little sway on some classic titles. Mortal Kombat II was the peak, not MK3 (or UMK3). We all have our masterpieces.

"A lot of people don't realize that the 2D sprites in Yoshi's Island were backed up by a version of the polygon-pushing Super FX chip—the same one that powered early 3D SNES games like Star Fox and Stunt Race FX."

This is not correct.Yoshi's Island catridges use the Super FX 2 chip, which, iirc, features a twice as fast clock speed than the generation 1 Super FX chip used in Starwing and Stunt Race FX.

If you go as far as stating "a version of", then at least make the second half of the sentence not so ambiguous that you could think it really is the same version of the same chip.

No need to be so angry. You're giving information, thank you for that, but you could say it in friendlier way.

Agreed with others here that this is one of the best Mario games ever made. It's in my top all time favorite games. I don't think it was a tech issue emulating the game on virtual console, since there are other emulation ports of it out there. I'm wondering if its a licensing issue. But it is a shame that it isn't on Wii, it's probably the best snes game made.

Far as I'm concerned, the Super NES had three masterpieces. You already covered one. The other two were Zelda 3 and Secret of Mana. The three represent the best action, the best adventure, and the best roleplaying. (Chrono Trigger was cool, but still limited by turn-based and menu-based action; Mana was real-time, and so much better for it. But I can accept a strongly made case for CT as well. For its limitations, it was pretty damn good.) I wouldn't call either Super Mario World a masterpiece... hold your tomatoes, I consider the second, revised Super Mario All-Stars a masterpiece. It's got Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3, and the US version of 2, plus Super Mario World. All except 2 were phenomenal games, and I only knock 2 for being hell hard. (Yes, I'm referring to the one called "The Lost Levels" -- in Japan, it was sold as Super Mario Bros. 2; the American SMB2 that takes place in the dream world is just a re-skin/improvement on another game, Doki Doki Panic.)

I agree with you as far as Zelda 3, but Secret of Mana over Chrono Trigger and its sequel? Heck no.

Secret of Mana was slow, as, crap. You sit there and hold the button to charge or you swing like a nut and chip away at the enemy. If you wanted to get better magic and better weapons you had to sit there and cast spells or whack at various enemies for-ever. It was the slowest leveling system ever.

Seiken 3 (which NEEDS an official port, c'mon Nintendo) improved on everything that Secret of Mana did. You didn't need to charge your weapon - your special abilities charged as you were doing damage. No weapon or magic leveling, you just bought new ones as time went along. It was a super-epic story that you could play any number of different ways because of the 6 characters you could choose at the start of the game. The graphics were amazing, the music was amazing, the sound was amazing.

As others have opined, this is by far my favorite Mario game and I`m equally baffled as to why Nintendo has never made it available on the Virtual Console.

The poster above was incorrect, Yoshi's Island isn't on the Virtual Console in any region. In fact, none of the Super FX games are on the VC in any region, which makes me think there's something particularly tricky in emulating it that Nintendo never got figured out.

Just want to note that the GBA version of Yoshi's Island is one of the 20 free games for early 3DS buyers. I don't know if Wii is less powerful than 3DS, but it seems unlikely to me that "it is too hard to emulate".

Wow, seems I'm in the minority here, but I hated it, Absolutely, unequivicolly hated it. I've even came back to it in recent years after I got some USB SNES controllers, and tried it on a month long SNES nostaglia trip. Loaded up the ROM and played it for about 15 minutes, and concluded "Yep still sucks."

Glad I'm not the only one. I too just could never get into this game at all.

Kyle Orland / Kyle is the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, specializing in video game hardware and software. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He is based in Pittsburgh, PA.